School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
Department of Medical Statistics & Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
Age Ageing. 2021 May 5;50(3):928-935. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa245.
Diabetes management permeates patients' daily routines and interacts with their living context. Less is known about how older Chinese couples view their supportive roles and the allocation of the management responsibility between them.
To explore dyadic appraisal, coping and the barriers to diabetes management shared by older Chinese couples.
A qualitative study of older couples where at least one partner had type 2 diabetes mellitus was implemented in four communities of Guangzhou, China. Four focus groups containing 11 couples, and ten in-depth interviews with individual couples were conducted sequentially. All of the data were coded with Nvivo 11 using thematic analysis.
The majority of the older couples interviewed appraised diabetes as a shared problem, taking part in monitoring and altering each other's health status and behaviour. Limited knowledge and a lack of accurate information about diabetes negatively impacted the patients' self-management and their spouse's ability to support them. A female dominated-care pattern was evident that female spouses, regardless of their health status, were actively involved in or fully responsible for managing their husband's health. Older couples' management practices were also shaped by family responsibilities and their living environment.
Our study provides first-hand evidence of older Chinese couples' daily interactions and the main barriers to diabetes management. It is vital to provide health education directly to older couples to empower them to access adequate mutual support when managing chronic diseases.
糖尿病管理渗透到患者的日常生活中，并与他们的生活环境相互作用。对于老年中国夫妇如何看待他们的支持角色以及他们之间管理责任的分配，人们知之甚少。
探讨老年中国夫妇对糖尿病管理的共同评价、应对方式和障碍。
在中国广州的四个社区开展了一项针对至少有一名伴侣患有 2 型糖尿病的老年夫妇的定性研究。先后进行了 4 组包含 11 对夫妇的焦点小组和 10 对夫妇的个人深入访谈。所有数据均使用 Nvivo 11 进行编码，并采用主题分析。
大多数接受采访的老年夫妇都将糖尿病视为共同的问题，共同监测和改变彼此的健康状况和行为。对糖尿病的有限了解和缺乏准确信息，对患者的自我管理和配偶支持他们的能力产生了负面影响。女性主导的照顾模式明显，无论健康状况如何，女性配偶都积极参与或完全负责管理丈夫的健康。老年夫妇的管理实践也受到家庭责任和生活环境的影响。
我们的研究提供了老年中国夫妇日常互动以及糖尿病管理主要障碍的第一手证据。为了帮助他们在管理慢性病时获得足够的相互支持，向老年夫妇提供健康教育至关重要。
